Blogs from Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia

After our beach day in Krabi we headed south to Penang Malaysia via minibus. The roads in Southern Thailand are paved, but they are rather bumpy and it made for a rough ride. Crossing into Malaysia was easy (only country where you don’t have to fill out Visa forms), but the lines were long. We arrived in Penang around 6:00pm, having set-off around 7am, an eleven hour day. On the ride we sat next to a very chatty German who was a retired contractor, I’m guessing he was around 65. He has travelled a lot and now calls Asia home. He made the trip very interesting as he told us all of these stories about the United States that he learned through the “news” – many of which I have not heard. I say “news” because ... read more

He had been suddenly jerked from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial. No lazy, sun-kissed life was this, with nothing to do but loaf and be bored. Here was neither peace, nor rest, nor a moment's safety. All was confusion and action, and every moment life and limb were in peril. There was imperative need to be constantly alert; for these dogs and men were not town dogs and men. - Jack London, The Call of the Wild ------------------------------------------------------- The Indonesia Trip Part 1: Resa and the Bataks Part 2: Satu, Dua, Tiga... Part 3: Happiness Is Within Part 4: Las Buenas Duran Poco ---... read more

Its funny how someone tells you about somewhere and within a few days you find yourself heading there! Tuc Tuc was a must see place recommended by Dave Fox and within a few days of hearing about it we were on an over night bus from Singapore to Butterworth in Penang (Malaysia) with the intention of getting a ferry over to Medan (Sumatra)! Should have done a bit more research as when we got to Penang after an 11 hour bus ride and a 30 minute ferry crossing we realised we were 13 months too late for the ferry to Sumatra which no longer operated due to either immigration issues, money issues or both! Travelling goes that way sometimes and so we thought we'd check out Penang before getting a plane over to Medan - seemed ... read more

Seventy five thousand years ago a large volcano blew its top leaving a massive crater in North Sumatra. Near the middle of the crater a slow flow of lava trickled from beneath the earth's crust, forming a big lump that would become samosir island whenever the crater filled with water. Creation through destruction is the lesson volcanoes are here to teach us. The idea of violence in a place as peaceful as lake toba seems preposterous but when you hear old lore about canniblistic tribes deep in tropical jungles this is the source. Shamanism and consuming human flesh have been replaced churches and very emotive hymn singing as toba is the heartland of christianity in Indonesia. The first cross bearers weren't exactly welcome with open arms as the Batak people were protective of their territory. The ... read more

Rauhallisesta Penangista oli shokki siirtyä hektiseen Medaniin. Lentokentällä taksit halus verottaa tähtitieteellisiä hintoja matkasta couchsurffarin luo, ja liikenne oli ihan päätöntä. Aluksi kummankaan puhelimet ei toiminu, mutta onneksi Suomen simkortti oli vielä tallessa, niin saatiin yhteys majapaikkaan, ja mukavaan hostiimme Agungiin. Pienen levon jälkeen päätettiin lähteä syömään Agungin ja sen kaverin kanssa, jonka englannin kielen taito rajottu "hauska tutustua"-sloganiin. Koska meijän malesian ja indonesian kielen puhuminen oli samaa tasoa, kommunikointi oli melko heikkoa. Agungin kanssa päästiin tutustumaan Medanin yöelämään. Kavereiden ansiosta "Ei sandaaleja"-sääntö unohettiin meidän kohdalla, ja loppu illasta jokanen baaritarjoilija oli käyny keikuttamassa tai kilistelemässä meidän kanssa. Pikku tunneilla koko porukka nauro silmät kyyneliss... read more

I have arrived at long last, on Samosir Island, home to the kooky little village of Tuk Tuk, where the houses are shaped like upside-down canoes and the people eat each other. Or used to. Samosir lives in the middle of Lake Toba, the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia but that's only one of its many claims to fame. This place has got that kind of jaw-dropping scenery you'd see in a National Geographic and think, how come I never see anything as pristine and untouched as that? I honsetly thought the bus had dropped me off in New Zealand (not that I've actually been to New Zealand) and not at the ferry terminal in Parapat. The other detail is that this island was the original settlement of the Batak people, a cannibalistic tribe in ... read more